Rarely is a studio capable of crafting games so ubiquitously known that even the non-gamer knows about them. Thanks to the massive success ofGrand Theft Auto 5andRed Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar Games has never been more prosperous. Crafting sprawling worlds full of character and high attention to detail has become the studio’s mantra and mission, with the whole world aware of the aforementioned titles. That being said, there was a time whenRockstar Gameswasn’t always about cowboys and carjacking.
When people think ofRockstar, they think ofGrand Theft Auto, but there’s still plenty of other dormant Rockstar Games franchises awaiting their sequels. Rockstar has produced games ranging from detective noire and high school coming of age stories to arcade racing games i nthe past. Putting aside the critically acclaimed franchises the studio is well known for, there’s a treasure trove of other series from the studio’s past that haven’t seen the light of day for years.
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Rockstar’s Powerhouse Franchises
In all fairness, Rockstar Games doesn’t necessarily need to add any of these games to its lineup. At this point, Rockstar has the privilege of being in a position where the company can ask “why ruin a good thing?” by putting development time into entries that haven’t seen mainstream acclaim in decades. Powerhouses likeGrand Theft AutoandRed Dead Redemptionhave seen major critical success in the last few years, and for good reason. In particular,Grand Theft Auto 5has become one of the greatest selling video games of all time, rivaled only by games as ubiquitous asTetrisandMinecraft. Even then, the difference between them is minuscule.
That’s not to say there isn’t hope for more niche products of Rockstar Games to return in the future. Even if a franchise doesn’t command as much mainstream attention asGrand Theft Autodoes, the studio has proven its more focused titles can still succeed.Red Dead Redemption 2, a comparatively niche game also published by Rockstar, has been incredibly well-received. The epic cowboy adventure was thehighly anticipated sequel from the firstRed Dead Redemption, but despite Rockstar’s most recent games quickly becoming its most successful, the publisher still has a treasure trove of IPs just waiting for a sequel or subsequent title to come out.
Grand Theft Auto Stories
Cheating a little bit here, considering theGrand Theft Autofranchise is still very much alive and well. For a little while, in between official entries were made to the series,Grand Theft Autowould release theStoriesgames. These games served as supplemental side games that brought players back to the iconic cities for just a little longer.Liberty City StoriesandVice City Storiesboth came out beforeGrand Theft Auto 4, serving as prequels to the stories of Claude and Tommy Vercetti, an these games did serve as the closest thing to aGrand Theft Autoexpansion prior to the advent of DLC. During a time wheresingle player DLC is sorely missed inGrand Theft Auto 5, perhaps a supplemental game/expansion that picks up theStoriesname could take the place of single player DLC instead.
L.A. Noire
Utilizing innovative technology for the time and melding it with gameplay,L.A. Noirerepresented a functionally ambitious leap for games. It was the first time truly accurate facial capture was used to simulate human emotions, which became integral to the gameplay itself. Players would examine minor character movements and twitches to determine if someone was lying or telling the truth during interrogations.
While the “MotionScan” technology is considered primitive and too expensive today, it was an interesting justification of using high fidelity graphics back during the PS3/Xbox 360 days. Studios nowadays have adopted much more cost-effective technology and achieved similar/better results, butL.A. Noireis still a one-of-a-kind game. It pushed the boundaries of graphical fidelity in a functional way that not a whole lot of games are capable of. It’d be interesting to seesome kind ofL.A. Noiresequel or extension of the seriesin the future and what it could do with current or next-gen capabilities.
Bully
Taking Rockstar’s propensity for satire and applying it to adolescence,Bullywas essentiallyGrand Theft Automeets high school. Players took on the role of the mischievous Jimmy, attempting to survive the social hierarchy of a private boarding school where Jimmy has to stand up to the bullies from both the faculty as well as the student body to succeed in his classes. It was clever amalgamation of Rockstar’s trademark humor within a completely new setting for the studio.Bullyhad all the trappings ofGrand Theft Auto’s ironic, facetious storytelling players expected, but allowed players to live out their fantasy (or alternate reality) of being a troublemaker in high school. Even though rumors were floating around the internet last year,it seemsBully 2development was shelved in the early 2010s. It really is a shame considering aBullygame based on Gen Z young adults seems like prime hilarity.
Midnight Club
Back during the height of tuner car culture and arcade racing games, Rockstar dipped its own toes in the trend with theMidnight Clubfranchise. Similar in tone and gameplay to a certain still-running EA franchise, theMidnight Clubseries saw players increasing their reputation in the street racing scene. Capturing arcade racing fun in pure form,Midnight Club’s racing gameplay favored more on high speed excitement rather than simulating real-world racing conditions. Despite being arguably dwarfed in popularitycompared toNeed for Speed, theMidnight Clubfranchise was still one of the best-selling racing game franchises of its time.Midnight Club 3 DUB Editionis often recognized as one of the best racing games ever made, in terms of arcade-style racing. Though arcade racing games have seen a slight rise in popularity, tuner car culture’s popularity has faded over time. As much as fans would love anotherMidnight Clubgame, it may not be the best time for it.
Agent
Bringing backAgentis one of the most requested Rockstar games to make a return, in terms of fan response.Agentwas a 007-esque spy thriller, being developed exclusively for the PS3, that had players take on the role of a spy during the Cold War. Sheer curiosity is a big factor forAgent, considering the game was never officially shown in any capacity other than a logo. This mysterious quality has permeated throughout the decade, as fans have only gotten cryptic descriptions and a couple blurry screenshots leaked from an environment artist many years later. Rockstar still maintains theAgentgame entry on its website,despite theAgenttrademark being abandoned in 2018.
Since then, there’s been no official word from Rockstar Games regarding the game’s existence, which has presumably been cancelled. Still, fans continue to hold out hope that the game may one day resurface as something new. Rockstar Games has never been in better condition than in 2020, toiling away at the nextGrand Theft Autogame after the massive success ofGrand Theft Auto 5. Unfortunately, that means some of the great franchises the studio has produced in the past may be on hold for a while. That being said, Rockstar Games is known for being unpredictable, so it may not be too late for many of these franchises.
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